Orange County governments have awarded more than 40 exclusive contracts worth some $4.5 billion to private trash haulers – most without ever opening the process to competitive bidding – even though local experience and scholarly studies show that competition can dramatically slash rates. The overwhelming majority of that trash business – some $3 billion worth – is tied up in what’s poetically termed “evergreen” agreements. These agreements never really expire and can renew into perpetuity, guaranteeing haulers a constant flow of dollars and millions in profits, virtually worry-free. There are exceptions, but generally speaking, the highest residential trash rates in Orange County are paid by folks in cities with those long-term evergreen contracts that have never been put to bid, including Placentia ($22.66 per month), Stanton ($21.09), Anaheim ($19.90), Yorba Linda ($19.56) and Huntington Beach ($19.39). Continue reading→

Last May, the Fountain Valley City Council did the right thing by notifying city residents of an upcoming increase in trash hauling fees, partly by long-time provider Rainbow Environmental Services. On paper, it didn’t seem much — $18.16 to $18.84 (+3.7%) for a single-family home. Their last increase was in 2011, but there might be some pushback in this normally quiet and well-run community as the Council also recently approved a not-insignificant hike in water rates. The total annual value of only residential trash hauling for Fountain Valley is estimated at $3.3 million.

Rainbow’s not run by dummies — they’ve likely mitigated the increase to keep peace, cover landfill hikes, protect their “evergreen” arrangement with the city and avoid the few good-government malcontents who believe that competitive bidding is in order to see if another hauler can do a better deal. Nowhere in the Staff Report or the Public Notice is open competition for the business mentioned or listed as an alternative for the city to consider — a major failing in staff work. The City Council will hear the issue Tuesday next at 6pm at their regular meeting at 10200 Slater Ave. Continue reading→